WHO
WOULDN'T WANT TO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF PIKACHU?SUPER
SMASH BROS. MELEE

Written By Shaun McCracken

I'll cut to the chase right now: I'm writing this review in July 2004
despite the fact that the game was released December 2001. It takes
some time to get around to playing and reviewing some games. When it
comes to writing a review, if the game is fairly old, I'll try to not
to compare that game to more current offerings, it's really not that
fair. But I'm not going to BS you on this review, trying to let you
think that this review has been around for a year or so. But why am I
saying this?

Super Smash Bros. Melee is one of those rare titles on any game system
that can still be appealing and addictive even after two and a half
years after it's initial release. The game play still seems rather
fresh, entertaining, challenging, and again, addictive. It's also one
of those games that has single player options that are just as fun and
entertaining as multiplayer options. Very few games can pull off that
feat effortlessly.

If you're not familiar to SSBM (and that's either because you're new to
the system or have ignorantly decided to not to have any involvement
with the game), it's (for the most part) a sequel to the 1999 N64
edition of Super Smash Bros. . The idea of this (and the N64 edition)
game is to take Nintendo's most celebrated characters and toss them
into an orgy of fisticuffs. Characters such as Mario, Luigi, Princess
Peach, Samus, Link, Kirby and others take to the arena and beat the
crap out of each other. And it's just as fun as it sounds as well.
While the original SSB was fairly entertaining to play, it was more fun
as a multiplayer game than a single player game. You were encouraged to
try and find up to four players and beat each other up senseless, and
it was fun. But playing alone was just "okay", and after awhile, you
kind of grew tired of the game. That problem has been alliveated in SSB
Melee, where single players can have as much fun as a group of players,
making this a better sequel.

The game design is much more simple that most fighting games. Moves
really don't require complex control manipulation (and some may not
like that), and can be done by pressing a certain direction and a
button. But where the game lacks in moves is made up in the items
present in the arena, such as turtle shells, Super Scopes, hammers and
much more. You can punch and kick your advisories, or hurl anything you
can find at them. This makes for a simple and accessible game that
anyone can get into, yet still be addictive and maintain a very
frenetic pace. And just because the game is easy to get into does not
equal an easy game, especially where the single player mode is
concerned. There are many challenges and gameplay modes that can range
from simple to frustrating, and really does add longevity to the game.
For the multiplayer mode, it all depends on who you play against.

Speaking of modes, here's what you can experience in the single player
modes: Classic (typical arcade fighting mode with multiple stages to
clear), Adventure Mode (like Classic, but with some actual platforming
stages thrown in), Event mode (try to clear the objective given),
Target Smash (one of the mini-games from Classic mode, try and clear 10
targets as fast as you can), Home Run Contest (see how far you can make
a punching bag fly), Multi-Man Melee (fight against wire frame
opponents in given challenges), as well playing against computer
opponents in the Vs. mode. On top of that, you can collect numerous
trophies by collecting coins or finding them in certain stages or bonus
stages. There are various multiplayer options as well, such as
customizable Melee matches, specific Melee challenges (such as Tiny
Melee where everyone is small) and a championship mode for up to 64
players (of course only two can play at a time). There's something for
everyone to do, whether you're in a group or playing alone.

Visually, SSBM still holds up pretty well to current offerings, but not
exactally taking full advantage of the systems capabilities. The
character models do look great and are fairly well detailed, and it's
markedly improved over the first Smash Bros. on the N64. You place the
character model of Mario from the N64 game to the current game, and
there is a huge difference. There's a nice variety of arenas, but
there's only a few that are actually pretty big. There's more compact
arenas than larger ones, and I'm not sure why that is. The textures are
pretty good, and they should be, since the most stages are pretty
small. There's also a good number of particle and special effects
thrown in, such as fire, lasers, etc. . And everything is done in what
I believe is 60 FPS without any major slowdown. In fact, it's fun
trying to make the game slow down because the frame rate generally
stays constant and smooth. the only time I noticed a slight drop in the
frame rate is when there were 4 players on screen, and everybody was
chucking Pokeballs at each other. It takes a lot to make the game
stutter.

The sound is another great reason to pick up this game. I know it
sounds weird to recommend a game partly for the audio, but if you grew
up with many of the Nintendo characters here, you'll be pleased as
punch by the remixed versions of classic Nintendo songs. Some great
standouts is the orchestral version of the dungeon song used in Zelda
II and the overhaul of Ice Climbers theme. There's a ton of familiar
favorites, and all except for the stupid DK Rap sound great. The sound
effects are pretty entertaining as well, with an assortment of whacks,
slaps and thuds, on top of character voices. It's just fun to hear the
thud of smashing the hell out of Pikachu and hear him scream off the
arena. And even though this doesn't have Dolby surround support, it
still sounds pretty good in surround sound (or even stereo speakers).

Final Thought

Despite the game being over two years old and being first generation,
Super Smash Bros. Melee is still a must-have title for the Gamecube
system. There's plenty to do whether you play alone or with a group,
and there's so much to find and unlock, you really don't want to stop
playing the game. It's easy to get into and hard to put down, and this
is a game only Nintendo could pull off, since they have the richest
catalouge of characters to use in a game like this. Despite the large
selection of playable characters in the game, there's still more that
could be added in from Nintendo's history. Perhaps we'll see more in a
long-overdue sequel to SSBM, but still, this is one of the better
well-rounded experiences you'll enjoy.

.

.

Published
By :NINTENDO

Developed
By: HAL
LABORATORY

Year Published :
2001

Players :
1-4

ESRB Rating:
TEEN

OVERALL
SCORE9.5

VISUALS

8.9

AUDIO

9.6

GAMEPLAY

9.5

REPLAY
VALUE

9.5

INNOVATION

9.0

Super Smash Bros. Melee is one of the best multiplayer games around,
and it's a game where the single-player mode doesn't suffer, either.

The
stupid Digimon rip-offs of this game

Tekken 4

Soul Calibur II

Not
much, really

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